A FORMER West Mercia Police officer has avoided jail after he admitted making indecent images of children.

Jamie Bunting, aged 27, previously pleaded guilty after he was charged with three counts of making indecent images.

On Thursday (November 7), the former West Mercia Police constable was given a suspended sentence at Shrewsbury Crown Court.

Bunting, of Westminster Close in Bromsgrove, was sentenced to 10 months for category A images; 6 months for category B and 4 months for category C to run concurrently and suspended for 2 years.

The charges followed an investigation by West Mercia Police’s Online Child Sexual Exploitation Team (OCSET) and relate to non-contact offences.

Bunting resigned from the force earlier this year. He was formerly based at Kidderminster Police Station and was a Cadet Leader for North Worcestershire Volunteer Police Cadets.

A spokesperson for West Mercia Police said: "West Mercia Police works closely with the National Volunteer Police Cadet Safeguarding and Standards Hub and the force strictly adheres to policies and procedures in relation to safeguarding volunteer police cadets. We do not believe this has been compromised and will continue to offer support to our cadets and cadet leaders.

"A charge of making indecent images can include downloading an image from a website, receiving an image from a social media app or opening an email containing such an image.

"Despite resigning from the force, Bunting will face gross misconduct proceedings in due course".